peladosvspesadoWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: pelados is a participle, pesado is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“pelados” is a participle and “pesado” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#39,377
“pelados” frequency rank
#4,736
“pesado” frequency rank
44113
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature pelados pesado
Definition Forma del plural de pelado, participio de pelar o de pelarse. Que pesa mucho.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set pelados and pesado apart are highlighted. They share 5 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

7 ch
pelados
6 ch
pesado

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: pelados is [peˈlað̞os] while pesado is [peˈsað̞o]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (participle vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 44113, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

pelados is recorded at frequency rank #39,377, classified as aparticiple, pronounced [peˈlað̞os]. pesado is at rank #4,736, tagged as anadj, pronounced [peˈsað̞o].

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 44113, this pair ranks #138,837 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of pelados vs pesado

Shared letters: adeops. Private to "pelados": l. Private to "pesado": -.

"pelados" · 7 letters · shape CVCVCVC  ·  "pesado" · 6 letters · shape CVCVCV

Known mistypes of this pair

  • peladoseplados · pealdos · peladdos · peladoss · peladso · pelaods · peldaos · pellados
  • pesadoepsado · peasdo · pesaddo · pesaod · pesdao · pessado · ppesado · pseado

Frequency comparison

pelados#39,377
pesado#4,736

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "pelados" and "pesado" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "pelados" is a participle and "pesado" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "pelados" or "pesado"?
"pesado" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #4,736 in our Spanish list, against #39,377 for "pelados". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering pelados vs pesado

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a participle, it's “pelados”; for an adjective, it's “pesado”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “pelados” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list